Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

51 reviews

lenorayoder's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Loved this! I can see why people who come here from the movie have a problem - while the plot is similar, the characters, themes, and feeling of the book are pretty removed from the adaptation. I like both for what they are. 

The magical realism, somewhat non-linear storytelling, and flawed characters with distinct personalities are real strengths of this book. The style of writing is so charming and then at times startling, it drew me in immediately and enhances the story and characters. 

By the end of the book I was still irritated by Gillian, but that’s not a fault of the book - like most of the characters she’s excellently written. The characters all feel real, and if I met some of them in real life I wouldn’t like them, but that’s what makes them interesting and propels the story! 

The ending of this book doesn’t wrap everything up neatly in a bow, but that’s kind of the point. Life is messy. We grow and learn and try our best, but we are imperfect. We do what we can with what we have. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

bessadams's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Murder

kelly04's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

izzy_v's review against another edition

dark lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Very different from the movie (read this before seeing the movie for the first time), but still enjoyed the book! Much less magical and witchy than the movie, which was a bummer for an October read but still was sweet and good fall vibes. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

qupcns's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Grief

Minor: Domestic abuse and Drug abuse

sycamore22's review against another edition

Stopped when the two guys were chasing Kylie through the field in attempt to assault her. I watched the movie first and loved it… the book is VERY different. There were just too many descriptions of sex or sexual thoughts that felt violating for me. Like most of the sex scenes lacked consent, and Gillian’s memories of sex before Ben Fry are abusive and difficult to read. Once you’ve lived through something like that, you don’t feel any desire to read about it, in my experience. This is NOT the charming, warm-hearted, witchy story of sisterhood depicted in the movie. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Rape, and Murder

Sally goes through a one year period of Grief. Gillian is physically and sexually abused by her Jimmy, which leads to her drugging and accidentally killing him. Jimmy’s drunken abuse is discussed in detail in Gillian’s memories. There are many jarring moments where men’s sexual thoughts about Gillian and Kylie (who is a minor) are graphically recounted. There is a scene where Kylie is chased through a field by two men who intend on raping her. This is where I stopped reading, but I saw in another review that she does end up escaping.

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think it would be impossible for me not to compare the book to the movie I’ve seen countless times. I never expect a movie to be a perfect retelling of a book, but having now read the book, I am surprised by how different they are… and even more surprised to find that this may be the one time that the movie is better than the book… 😬 Sorry, not sorry.

That’s not to say that the book isn’t great in its own right, though! I’m not normally a fan of this descriptive style of writing, but Hoffman’s writing is definitely an exception. I almost want to describe it as lyrical, though I don’t think it technically is. It’s beautiful, though, for sure. Captivating. Magical. Though different, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading the origin story of the characters I’ve loved for over a quarter century. 

I do have to say that nearly three hundred pages contained within only FOUR chapters is an absolutely horrific choice. Borderline cruel. Were this any other book, I would’ve returned it without reading a page for that fact alone. I would really like to read the other books in this series but if they have similar chapter lengths, I may have to pass. If you’ve read them, please let me know if Hoffman learned the art of reasonable chapters!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

ronan_lesh's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Violence and Death of parent

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is the story of a family of women who love each other fiercely and will do anything for each other. This is also the story of love, when it is a disaster, when it’s dangerous and when it is absolutely perfect. I just love a witchy family.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Death of parent

louiepotterbook's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail